Goodrich Corporation
has delivered a modified Hubble Space Telescope fine guidance sensor to NASA’s
. The sensor will undergo tests prior to its launch on the Hubble final servicing mission, "SM4," scheduled to take place in 2008.
This fine guidance sensor will replace one of three existing on-orbit units, one of which has been in continuous operation for the past 17 years.
According to Goodrich, Hubble's fine guidance sensors are critical components of the telescope's precise pointing control system and are responsible for maintaining the stable pointing that produces the pictures and data provided by the Hubble. The fine guidance sensors are also used for astronomy.
The technology aids in the discovery and measurement of the mass of planets in other solar systems and can improve theories of star formation and evolution by measuring the mass of binary star systems.
Nanogenerator consumes CO2 to generate electricity
Whoopee, they've solved how to keep a light on but not a lot else.